Well, that was probably the last Kate-centric episode ever, so it had that going for it. But I'm not finding myself totally interested in the flash-sideways narrative at this point. The flashforwards and time travel in the past two seasons meant that every minute of each episode was devoted to advancing the actual plot of the show. These new flashes seem indulgent/irrelevant/inconsequential in a way that we haven't seen since season three. (There are much more important things I'd rather see in the final season than an entire scene with Kate removing her cuffs in a chop shop.) OK, there seem to be certain fleeting memories or a subconscious awareness present somewhere within some of the characters, but that's not enough to make up for the total disconnect between the alternative/parallel/new reality and the past five years of plot and character development. At least not enough to get me really mentally/emotionally stimulated and invested.
These Flash Sideways storylines will NOT end up having been irrelevant/inconsequential. I just feel that we are feeling that a little bit because we do not yet understand what it is exactly that we are watching. I am getting the feeling that this whole season is going to be one big "Through The Looking Glass"... and that is a VERY good thing. Remember the first time you saw that ep? I know personally, while I was riveted with the on-island story of will they/won't they is that a good thing/bad thing climax in regard to the survivors rescue, I was left confused and subsequently disinterested with Jack's "Flashback". Who is this guy? Suicidal? Drunk? We've seen too much of his story for this to fit in ANYWHERE and make sense in regards to who Jack was pre flight. Sure there were moments that stood out, Fox's peformance was great pretty across the ep and there were obviously very important questions being asked "Who is in the coffin, and why does Jack care so much?". "Who is Jack calling?" etc etc, but again, feeling as though they were squeezing in a whole new chapter in Jacks life, it just didn't resonate. That is until the final three minutes of the show in what is, in my opinion the single greatest moment of LOSTs entire run. The moment we realize we haven't been watching a Flashback, but a Flashforward. The moment those tidbits of intriuge became full blown WTF moments thru hindsight and the questions became HUGE as oppossed to simply being noted. That is what this season is. ITs all going to come into focus. D&C have been very vocal about viewers not disregarding the Sideways storyline and stressing that it IS very relevant and plays a huge role. Obviously they're not idiots... their game long plan was not to get us to the end then simply give us a "What If..." scenario. Come on, have some faith folks.
Now, I'm not jumping up and down in defense of the episode, as it was (as sadly, a lot of Kate centric eps are) lacking in many areas. It did have the sense of being a bridging/filler episode, but there were plenty of good/great bits to make it an OK ep. The Claire stuff, the implications of the infected/claimed scenario, Josh Holloway's performance, Sayid's state, Ethan GOODSPEED.
Also, to LOTRFAN, if last night was the first time you'd heard Kate say that reuniting Claire and Aaron was her motivation for coming back to the Island, then that's just bad watching on your part. Not only has it been specifically said in dialogue on numerous occasions, but the need for Claire and Aaron to be reunited (and Kate's undestanding of this) has been shown to us in varying degress of directness countless times. In fact, the claim that Claire and Aaron need to be together goes all the way back to the beginning of the series.
I is a virtuous decision sure, but this is the first I remember hearing it mentioned.
Nice work Tom! Did you make it to the last Lost panel at Con? That was fun.
